Compromise approved on youth jobs plan

Paris  France's lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved a compromise youth job plan to replace a measure that triggered nationwide protests and plunged the country into crisis.

Unions, whose protest movement forced President Jacques Chirac to scrap the law on Monday, have said they would remain vigilant until the new compromise plan is approved. The National Assembly voted 151-93 in favor of the plan, which now goes to the Senate.

The compromise plan, worked out with unions and members of Chirac's ruling UMP party, includes training programs and internships for disadvantaged youths instead of the job contract that would have allowed employers to fire workers under 26 in the first two years without giving a reason.